Insurance Broker in Ottawa: Compare & Save

If you’re looking for an insurance broker in Ottawa, the first thing to understand is what the word means. A broker is a licensed advisor who can compare and place coverage with many insurers. An agent, including the person at your bank branch or an insurer’s own sales office, represents one company. Both are paid by the insurer, so working with a broker costs you nothing extra; the difference is how much of the market you get to see.

The second thing is that you can actually come and see us. Hayes Family Insurance has been at 343 Preston Street in Little Italy since I founded the practice in 1996. Our door is open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and if you’d rather do everything by phone, video and e-signature, that works just as well.

We compare term life, whole life, critical illness, disability, health and dental and travel insurance from 30+ Canadian insurers. This page explains how we work, what Ottawa households ask us about across all of those products, and how to judge any broker you’re considering, including us.

The team on Preston Street

I’ve been a Certified Financial Planner® since 2001. My son Cameron and our colleague Alex Diakun are both licensed advisors with an MSc in Finance and Investments, and Mallory Hayes keeps every application and follow-up moving. Between us we’ve sat across the table from public servants, tech workers, nurses, tradespeople, retirees and new parents from every corner of the city: Kanata, Stittsville, Nepean, Barrhaven, Riverside South, Orleans, Gloucester, the Glebe, Westboro, Hintonburg, Centretown, Old Ottawa South, Alta Vista, Manotick and the rural villages beyond.

We’re independent. We hold contracts with Canada Life, Sun Life, Manulife, RBC Insurance, Empire Life, iA Financial, Desjardins, BMO Insurance, Equitable, Beneva, Foresters, Canada Protection Plan, Assumption Life, ivari and others, and we don’t work for any of them. We’re regulated by FSRA, and you can verify each of our licences on the FSRA public registry.

One boundary worth stating: we don’t place home, auto or commercial property coverage. For those, you’ll want a property and casualty broker, and many Ottawa families use one broker for each.

Broker vs. buying direct

You can buy coverage from a broker, directly from one insurer (a bank branch, a captive agent, an online site), or through group benefits at work. Here’s how the first two compare.

	Independent broker	Direct from one insurer
Insurers compared	Many (30+ in our case)	One
Cost to you	None; insurer pays commission	None; insurer pays its own staff
Health conditions	Case placed with the most lenient insurer	That insurer’s decision only
Products	Term, permanent, CI, disability, health, travel	That insurer’s lineup
After the sale	Same advisor for changes and claims	Call centre
In person	Yes, at our office	Varies; often not

Buying direct is fair for a healthy 30-year-old who wants a basic term policy and doesn’t mind that the price wasn’t compared. For anyone with a health history, a large need, a business, or a question about disability, critical illness, health or permanent coverage, the comparison is where the value is. For the same person, rates commonly differ by 30% or more between insurers. More in insurance broker vs. buying direct and PolicyMe vs. a broker.

What Ottawa households ask us about

Ottawa’s economy has a shape that few other Canadian cities share, and the questions follow from it.

Federal, provincial and municipal employees. A large share of the city works for government, and nearly all of them have group benefits. Group life is commonly a multiple of salary, well short of what a family with a Barrhaven mortgage and two kids needs. Health benefits through the Public Service Health Care Plan and similar plans are good while you’re employed, but retirees and anyone moving to the private sector need to look at what changes. We field these questions daily: group vs. individual life insurance, replacing group benefits when you leave a job and health and dental for retirees in Ontario.

Tech workers in Kanata and downtown. Employer benefits vary widely between a large established firm and a startup, and job changes are frequent. A personal life policy and disability insurance that follow you are the answer. Our life insurance in Kanata page goes into the west end specifically.

Healthcare workers. The Ottawa Hospital, CHEO, Montfort, the Queensway Carleton and the region’s long-term care homes employ many nurses and other professionals with group coverage and shift work. Disability insurance for nurses covers the occupational angle.

Self-employed and small business owners. Contractors, consultants, restaurant owners along Preston and Bank Street, real estate agents and tradespeople across the city have no group plan at all. Their conversations usually start with disability insurance for the self-employed and health and dental for the self-employed, with life and critical illness close behind.

Snowbirds and travellers. Ottawa winters send a lot of retirees to Florida and Arizona, and OHIP pays very little outside Canada. Snowbird travel insurance and annual multi-trip plans are a large part of what we do each autumn.

Families sponsoring parents. Ottawa’s newcomer communities often bring parents to visit, and Super Visa insurance requires at least $100,000 of emergency medical coverage valid for a year.

For the life-insurance-specific picture, including indicative rates by age, read our page on life insurance in Ottawa, and for the south end, life insurance in Nepean.

What to look for in an Ottawa insurance broker

Ask these questions of anyone, including us.

• Are you licensed with FSRA? Search the advisor’s name on the FSRA public registry. It takes a minute, and every legitimate broker in Ontario is on it.
• How many insurers can you actually place business with? “Independent” can mean two contracts or thirty. Ask for the list.
• Who pays you? The honest answer is the insurer, by commission. Be cautious of anyone charging a fee on top for standard products.
• What happens after I buy? You want the same person for beneficiary changes, coverage increases, term conversions and, eventually, a claim.
• Will you tell me if I don’t need something? A good broker sometimes says your group plan and savings are enough, or that term is right and whole life isn’t.
• Can I see you in person if I want to? For some people this matters a great deal. Our answer is yes.

Indicative costs

Insurance in Canada is priced nationally, so an Ottawa applicant pays what anyone else in Ontario would. As a reference, illustrative monthly premiums for a healthy non-smoker buying $500,000 of 20-year term life are roughly $20–$30 at age 30, $32–$48 at 40 and $70–$110 at 50; women typically pay 15–25% less, smokers materially more. These are ranges, not quotes, and your rate depends on age, health, smoking status, coverage amount and insurer. For other products, see critical illness insurance cost and private health insurance cost in Ontario.

A note for Gatineau residents

Insurance licensing is provincial. We’re licensed in Ontario and place coverage for Ontario residents. If you live on the Quebec side, even if you work downtown, you’ll generally need an advisor licensed in Quebec. Contact us anyway; we’ll tell you honestly whether we can help.

How to get started

• In person: visit 343 Preston Street, 11th floor, Suite 1166. Book through our contact page so the right advisor is free.
• Phone: 343-882-5216, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern.
• Online: fill out our quote form and we’ll come back with comparisons from 30+ insurers.

A first meeting takes about 15 minutes, covers your family, income, mortgage, existing coverage and health in general terms, and ends with a plain recommendation. Compare quotes from 30+ Canadian insurers in about two minutes, free and with no obligation.